Luke 8:40-59 Building Faith

We return to Capernaum with Jesus today in Luke’s narrative. Luke is going to tell us the familiar story of Jairus’ daughter’s healing and an unnamed woman. We visited these stories in both Matthew and Mark. In Matthew we looked at the stories individually and from the perspective of Jairus and the woman. In visiting these stories in Mark we used the eyes of Jesus’ disciple, John, for our story. I have linked the previous posts to the name/title of that participant, in case you want to go back and read the stories again.

When I was reading the intertwined stories today I was wondering if there was anything besides time that tied these two stories together. I believe I received an answer to that question. The thread that was pointed out to me is the amazing faith that was demonstrated by the two main seekers and how the faith of one was built on the faith shown by the other. I want to take a closer look at that faith.

In our encounter with Jesus today, He is first approached by Jairus. Jairus’ daughter lay near death by the time he approached Jesus. We don’t really know how long she was sick before he sought Jesus’ help. We simply know her condition was grave when he met up with Jesus.

I’m sure Jairus was very relieved when Jesus agreed to come with him and he was probably chomping at the bit trying to get Jesus to hurry up. He didn’t have a moment to lose on this errand. But the crowds weren’t cooperating with Jairus and his sense of urgency. In fact someone in the crowd caused Jesus to stop in His tracks.

This stop wasn’t a momentary missed step stop, but a crowd questioning full stop. I can just imagine Jairus’ anxiety level rising. He believes Jesus can help his daughter, but they have to get there in time and this is taking TOO much time!

I noticed in reading the story today that our woman didn’t jump right out there as soon as Jesus asked who touched Him. She wanted to stay hidden. She had no intention of telling Jesus or anyone else her story. But when Jesus stopped and wouldn’t let the matter go, she finally stepped forward. As a woman I can certainly identify with her wanting to keep this very personal business private. But she shared all of it with everyone listening in. She didn’t get a private audience with Jesus so she could discretely share her plight. She spoke openly of her condition, her history, her faith decision, and her healing. Jairus was one of those listening in.

When she finally told her story she was kneeling at Jesus’ feet. She wasn’t bragging that she had pulled of this great stealth miracle. I believe she was trembling with fear. Yes, she received her healing but she was still in danger. She was an unclean woman by the law’s standards and she wasn’t even supposed to be out in public, let alone admitting to touching someone. She had no guarantee what Jesus’ reaction would be. In spite of all that, she freely admitted what she had done and was ready to accept full responsibility for her actions.

Jesus didn’t condemn her for her actions but commended her for her faith instead. Jesus told her that her faith had made her whole. He said this in the hearing of everyone who had already been listening. He didn’t whisper it in her ear but stated it loud and clear. Jairus, again, heard every word.

While Jesus was still speaking with the woman, someone from Jairus’ home came to let him know that it was too late. His daughter had already died. No use bothering Jesus anymore. Was Jairus’ initial thought one of anger towards the woman who delayed Jesus’ arrival? I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn he experienced despair at that moment too. But Jesus stepped in before any of these feelings could take root. Jesus words to him stopped him in his tracks; “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well” (verse 50).

Jesus called for Jairus to have amazing faith. Faith like the woman he had just watch fall at Jesus’ feet. Faith that said, “I KNOW” “if I can but…” I believe her faith built his up. She didn’t have Jesus promising her anything before she came to Him. She simply had the heartfelt conviction that if she could even get close enough to touch Jesus clothes that she would be healed. She knew He held that much power in Himself. And she resolved that she would not be denied access to Him and His power by anyone or anything.

Jairus had to climb to that same level. Jairus had to KNOW that Jesus’ promise would be fulfilled. Her story helped him get there. I wonder if he would have had the faith if she hadn’t been placed in his path. Would Jesus have gotten there in time if He wasn’t stopped? Probably not because this person had come from Jairus’ home where his daughter had already died. So did God orchestrate this chain of events to build Jairus’ faith? Who else benefitted from this “faith shot” that day? Peter, James and John certainly got a boost in theirs after witnessing Jesus’ actions with the girl. Can you imagine how they described the scene to the other disciples?

Father God, You are so good at giving us exactly what we need exactly when we need it most. You plan it all out even before we realize we have a need. The way You put the pieces together is amazing! You did that in Jesus’ life over and over again. Thank You for showing me how You did it in this situation.

Thank You for showing me something new once again in Your familiar stories. Forgive me for every time I complain about trying to dig something else out. YOU are the one to dig it out. I simply need to sit still and listen to what You have to say. That is where my faith needs to work. KNOW that You have more in Your stories than can fill a lifetime of looking. Thank You for keeping it fresh and new for me.

Thank you for visiting my site. I’m not sure which site is yours, but I do visit many during my research. Please feel free to use anything I have here. All I ask is if you use items from the page Lesson Learned on Daddy’s Lap that you credit me as the author. Join in anytime. I enjoy the company.

Thank you for visiting my site. My blogs are varying sizes, but I’m finding Luke’s gospel a little harder to get deep into. My problem is that we have covered many of the stories in Matthew and Mark already and I struggle to find new meaning. I always bring that up in prayer before diving in and God somehow brings something a little different out. If you are looking for length, try some of the posts that were written in first person. I’m going to go back through and create a tag for those kinds of posts, thanks to your comment. For now I’ll leave you with links to two of the first person ones: Jesus Heals a Desperate Woman and The Crowds Are Growing.
If you are looking for a great study, look back at Matthew and the links for the Sermon on the Mount.
Thank you for your comments. Please join in anytime.

Thank you for visiting my site. I’m glad you are enjoying the net and that you found me. I pray you found something for your personal walk and hope to see you again. Please feel free to join in anytime.

Thank you for visiting my site. Thank you too for the comments. I’m not certain if you are using “fastidious” in a positive or negative form but I appreciate your input regardless. I do endeavor to be clear and careful with what I share so maybe that is what you are seeing. I welcome all feedback and appreciate opposing and complementary ideas. Please join in anytime. I pray you find something here to take with you on your daily walk with Jesus.

Thank you for visiting my site. I don’t mind off topic comments at all. I’m relatively new to blogging too. I have been blogging for one year this month. I didn’t know a lot about it when I started but was offered a good deal by the company I’m with. It cost me a few hundred dollars to get set up with Accelerated Web Solutions but they did ALL the hard work including teaching me how to use my new blog. They even provided me with the opportunities to make money with my blog. I have made very little but I’m fine with that. The monthly cost is $4.99 and an annual renewal cost of about $25. I couldn’t be happier with my hosting company and if you are interested you can follow the link in the sidebar to them.

I know there are people who blog without a hosting company but I haven’t the foggiest idea what that would entail. Whatever you decide, I wish you all the best.

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Thank you for visiting my site. I would love to answer your questions, on topic or not. Because I post daily (which most bloggers don’t) I spend about 1-3 hours a day on my blog. Using WordPress as my writing platform is VERY easy. Once in awhile I look up how to write code to do something special, like putting content into a table (on my page Lessons Learned on Daddy’s Lap). Most of the time I use the toolbar provided on the WordPress page. As for designing the site itself, I have a hosting company that did that for me. There are several out there that offer different features and services. I used Advanced Web Solutions. They are GREAT! They set everything up and provide 24/7 support for a SMALL monthly fee. There is a modest start up fee, but it includes training you on how to use your own new site and letting you have FULL input on what it is going to look like and the name. I highly reccomend them. There is a link on my page to them. It is the one with the little monster saying sign up now.
I hope this was helpful and answered you questions. Please feel free to join in anytime with any question. I look forward to hearing from you again. Happy blogging!

Hi Kavin. Thank you for visiting my site. Thank you for taking the time to comment and congratulations on completing your first comment. I appreciate you kind words of encouragement and pray you found something you can take with you on your daily walk. Please feel free to join in anytime. I look forward to hearing from you again.

Thank you for visiting my site and for your kind words. I pray you found something to take with you on your daily walk with Jesus. Please join us anytime. I look forward to hearing from you again. I welcome all points of view, even those that don’t agree with mine.

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Thank you for visiting my site. Sorry my site got hungry and ate your comment. I pray you found something to take with you on your daily walk.

As to any advice I would give you, just keep writing. I don’t have a big following and have only been blogging for a year now, but I enjoy my subject matter and enjoy sharing what I learn. I think the most important thing in blogging is to love what you write about. There is nothing so boring as an article where the writer is not interested in his/her subject.

I can’t tell you how to generate traffic, beyond the SEO phrases and such. I have the additional feature of putting in keywords for searching as part of my WordPress package. I’m not really concerned with trying to generate a lot of traffic, as I have given up trying to make money with my site. I keep it going for my enjoyment. I do like the fact that I can track my traffic though to see how it is growing. I use Google Analytics for this.

I use Accelerated Web Design as my hosting company and they set up and maintain my site. I don’t think I could do this without them! They provided me with my background, menus, banner ads, Google Analytics, and all the help features I can possibly ever use. If you are interested in what they have to offer, click on the link on the side of the little monster. It takes you right to them.

Thank you for visiting my site. I’m glad I was able to help you get a clearer handle on this subject. I pray you found something that can help you on your daily walk with Jesus. Please feel free to join in anytime. I would love to hear how He has impacted your life, especially through anything you found here.

Thank you for visiting my site. I enjoy visiting GotQuestions.org. I find a lot of answers to my questions there. I do a lot of simply Googling my questions too and see what comes up.
I pray you found something for your own walk with Jesus in here. Please feel free to join in anytime. I love hearing what others have to say.

Thank you for visiting my site. I appreciate your kind words too. I am by no means an expert but I love my subject and spend a lot of time researching, thinking and especially praying about what to write. I pray you found something for your daily walk here too. Please feel free to join in anytime. I love to hear other people’s ideas, weather they agree with mine or not.